The greatest need humans have is to love and be loved. All of my life, I’ve wrestled with that need.
As a child, I grew up in a stable home environment and for the most part, I was happy. But I never felt I measured up or merited my dad’s love and approval. My dad was strict, and had high expectations of his children. I’d drive myself to be as perfect as I could be, to get A’s in school, to be obedient, even to the point that my other siblings labeled me the “goody two-shoes” of our family. My dad wanted an orderly home and family life. I don’t doubt now that he did love me, but I didn’t always feel loved in that relationship.
In high school, I fell in love with a guy named Mike. I convinced my family to attend his church, I worked in student government with him, I missed him the summer he went to Switzerland on a student exchange. We even ended up going to the same university. I so desperately wanted him to feel the same love for me, but while we were friends, he was also interested in dating others. I did a lot of crying over this guy. The good news is that I did eventually marry him.
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